So anyone have any fantastic new truck break in advice??

Only have about 400 miles on it so far so I have been taking it pretty easy, not ******* it, varrying the speed etc.

This is the first new truck I have ever owned so I want to look after it the best I can........

Need to get the new gooseneck hitch in their so I can give it a good workout and a hard long pull to really get things seated, just want to take thigs easy with it for a bit though......

 

With 400 miles on it you're ready to roll.

MikeyB

 

Once you hit 500 mile mark that is needed to seat the rear end gears, load it up with 11-1500 lbs in the bed or hook on to a trailer with 2-4K and take it on a non-stop drive except for fuel for as long as you can. My wife and I drove mine for 33 hrs non-stop with about 1100 lbs in the bed and I got 18.5 average MPG for the whole trip. Our best mpg was 20.5 and lowest was 15.5 on a tank of bad ULSD fuel. IMHO the best way to break in a diesel engine is to make it work hard .

 

I've read on here from some people that have hit the 500 mile mark and hooked up to 15,000 or more pounds and headed for the hills!! You won't hurt this engine. The most I have pulled so far is around 6000 lbs (nothing for a Cummins) and even that helped. I noticed a change in the sound and performance. Only a small increase in MPG, but then again it wasn't much of a work out. I have got just under 16k miles on it now and the MPG is still slowly getting better. I need to give it a "Real" work out sometime soon.

 

Cant wait till we make a hay run this year. Took the bro-in-laws powerstroke last year. 30 mph uphills with 18 round bales. 3 hour trip one way unloaded, 7 hours back.... Had to have my wife get the chainsaw and cut the roots off of me since we set in the truck so long....ARGH. This year Its gonna be 85 mph unloaded, and probably 65mph loaded, grinning the whole way!!!!.... I will then call the "break-in" period officially done!

 

Yeah I know, I sell heavy equipment for a living (much of it Cummins powered) so I am familliar with all that.... I guess now that i is MY new Cummins I want to be real nice to it and since I've never had a Brand new one!!

I want this one to be arond a long time........


It's just like I tell my customers, run it for a short while with light load, than just take it and use it like you intend to use it throughout it's life time...

 

At just over 500 miles hooked up the 6800 # toy hauler loaded up and went for a 600 mile drive.

 

You should be able to use it the way you want to now. I'd do some hauling or towing any time now that you have the 500 miles on it.

 

What do you'all think?? hAMMER down time? Full throttle?

I'm finding the G56 to still be VERY stiff......... Was anyone elses like that new??

My Old 5 spd just slips into gear beuaitfully unlike this new 6 speed...

 

Once my G56 comes up to temp during the winter it shifts fine.. You will notice that it will shift better at around 2200 RPM. It will get a little better with about 5,000 on it. I'm at 11,000 and Mine is great! Good Job on the G56 decision!! JB

 

Oh and I put 16,000+ pounds behind mine for the first BIG load and she never missed a beat!!! I Love this Truck! Get the Quad XZT Tow Module and some gauges and forget about it!

 

Your ready to tow, I think mine sounds smoother after a good pull, and it just turned 21K and it sounds more like a diesel now, rattles pretty good. It's been two years since a bought this truck, and I still get a kick out of driving it, best vehicle I've ever owned for sure.

 

You don't HAVE to run it as hard as you can to break it in! There's nothing wrong with gradually increasing your loads. No need to run it wide open just because you can. If you want to keep it, why thrash it? It's not just the engine but the tranny and the differentials too. There is no need to baby it, but why run it as hard as possible as early as possible? If you are still a little uneasy about asking for all its got then take it easy for a while longer.

As time goes by and you work it harder, after being easy on it for a while, you may notice that it actually runs better. When I run mine easily and with no load for a while, then tow in the mountains, it seems to run better when I get back and start driving it unloaded again. Now, at 100,000 miles mine runs better than it did new and uses maybe a half quart of oil in 10,000 miles between changes.

Wetspirit

 

i just wish i had something heavey to pull

 

Yes I know after I hook to a 20,000#+ load with my '99 it seems to run like a rocket afterwords... But that truck is well broke in, I don't mind flogging it at all... This one is brand new and I'm much gentler on it so far.